My cider smells sulfuric

[RinTheHuman]

Started a five gallon batch of cider on November 17 with local unpasteurized and adder 2 lbs of wildflower honey. Started off ferm with Safale S-04. Fermented quickly. A taste test and gravity reading on December 8 revealed that the cider quit ferm early and smelled and tasted very strongly of sulfur. Guy at my Local Homebrew Supply said I should transfer to secondary, aerate, then add Lalvin EC-1118. As of today the cider is almost completely clear and the Sulfur smell and taste has gone away considerably, but it still lingers enough that is makes the cider a lot less enjoyable.

Gravity is at 1.000. Very dry, just how I like it. I can tell it would be so delicious if it just didn't have that sulfur essence.

Anyone know if it will go away completely over time?

btw, yes I did let it sit with campden tablets for 24 before ferm.

 

[Mike_kever_kombi]

My (limited) experience with ciders, is that they don't hit their stride till at least 6 months old.

I would minimize oxygen contact, and let it ride. Time does amazing things for ciders.

I have had some real stinkers at 2-3 months that turned out wonderful at 8 months.

 

[Yooper]

It probably won't go away on it's own. It sounds like you did the right thing by aerating when you did (but I have no idea why he suggested to add more yeast(?)).

If it was the beginning of H2S, that was definitely a good move. Since it's still pronounced in the flavor, I'd consider splash racking to get it to dissipate, and then hitting it with some campden (sulfite) to prevent oxidation.

 

[RinTheHuman]

Yeah he suggested that too, I should have added. I did splash rack it then add more campden before adding more yeast. The sulfur smell and taste really went away considerably afterward, but not completely. Maybe I should splash rack and add more campden one more time?

 

[ericbw]

Yooper, are you saying that the sulfur won't dissipate over time? It seems to for me.

 

[Yooper]

Yooper, are you saying that the sulfur won't dissipate over time? It seems to for me.

If it's H2S, no, it won't dissipate with time. If it's a bit of sulfur from fermentation, then yes it generally does.

The "very strongly of sulfur" really indicates H2S, and that should be fixed or the cider will be lost.

 

[Yooper]

Yeah he suggested that too, I should have added. I did splash rack it then add more campden before adding more yeast. The sulfur smell and taste really went away considerably afterward, but not completely. Maybe I should splash rack and add more campden one more time?

I would. If it's still sulfury, I would be concerned. I would probably splash rack, and then sulfite and hope for the best.

 

[WVMJ]

Reduless is also an option, Morewine sells packs small enough for 6 gal at a time. WVMJ